James, Annelie, Aunty Jane, Joy, Granny Lulu, King Grandpa, Suzie, The Mercury Man, River Phoenix, David Bowie, John Lennon, Prince, Amy Winehouse, Iris, Grace
and countless others
We’ve all experienced loss
We’ve all experienced grief
When you’re surrounded by
spirits
When you can sense and
feel their energy
Or sometimes their distance
Knowing they’re not far away
Just somewhere over the rainbow
I’ve shed waterfalls of tears
When it comes to loss
James, diagnosed with
Schizophrenia
But such a beautiful soul
I remember biking to Hurlingham
With you
Singing Bob Marley songs
Whether you fell or jumped
It doesn’t matter
Because I know you flew
Those visions I get of you
On the other side
In a boat
On the water
Coming to see me in bird
form
Walking on my own
And telling me to look back
To see the perfect rainbow
You were such a beautiful
writer
Such a delicate energy
I still feel you sometimes
But the distance feels greater
Annelie
We lost you to alcohol
But those piercing blue eyes
And white blonde hair
Your art on the walls
in Vermont
The colours you used
Telling me how you were
feeling
I spoke to a guy in AA once
When I was leaving GA
He said he loved alcohol
more than his wife
more than his life
The Buddhist monks created
alcohol
The spirit
When it takes hold of you
The affliction of the addiction
Feels stronger than you
That’s when you need
Your higher power
To surrender
Step 1
of the 12 Steps
‘God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot
change
The courage to change the
things I can
and the wisdom to know
the difference’
Annelie came to see me
as a bird in Vermont
She told me to look after
her partner
my uncle Tom
And I will
Aunty Jane, without you
I wouldn’t have my flat
So I am grateful to you
Every day
For your kindness towards Will,
Laura, Mill and me
Without child
We remember staying with
you in Croydon
Your dogs
Your sandwiches
You turning up four hours
before Christmas lunch
It was hilarious
But we loved you for it
Running down to see you
in our pyjamas
After opening our stockings
You were under 5ft
I think your growth was stunted
When Grandpa lost his leg
In the war
The shock
We miss you
Joy
What a magic sister you were
to Granny Lulu
In the end you lost your
mind
to Dementia
But I could see you were
just in your own world
And I drew comfort in that
Granny Lulu
What a gift you had
It’s in your blood line
With the name St Clair
Your gift was strong
Thank you for all the love
and memories with Grandpa
In Portugal
In your flat
Watching Little Lord Fauntleroy
My Fair Lady
These films had a big impact
On my life
You always gave me such
wise advice
You battled Osteoporosis, had
a quadruple heart bypass,
several strokes
Having to learn to walk
again
Yet you never complained
Had a unique relationship
With each of your grandchildren
and Cami
Your great grand daughter
King Grandpa
Cami gave you that name
And boy, it suited you
I remember you sitting at
the head of the table at
Jules’ for Sunday lunch,
Christmas, any occasion
Becoming more and more
outrageous as the years went
on
The way you cared for Granny
So much love and devotion
You taught me so much
about your relationship with
Granny
A champion 100 yard sprinter
You held the record for 50 years
A fantastic rugby player
You joined the Grenadier Guards
And danced with The Queen
Fought heroically in the
Second World War
Losing your leg
On that Fateful Day
21st March at noon
The same day and time
That your uncle, Geoffrey Bassett
Lost his life in the First
World War
Who you were named after
But you continued on
With style
Marrying Granny
Giving birth to your two children
Michael, my father and Julia
Running a successful drinks
company
You brought us so much joy
and laughter
We still love you
And sometimes I sense you
At the most random of moments
‘Love you darling Al’
You never seem that far away
Suzie, we never met
But Tom has told me
You were the most incredible
healer
With a rare powerful gift
Your husband told Tom
You still continue your
work in heaven
And you really do
People like you are rare
gifts
That graced this earth
We are all fortunate due
to your powers
You seem to continue on
And we are forever grateful
The Mercury Man
Where to begin dear Freddie
My Rock God
Your power on stage
Your pace
Your skill
Your voice
Your laugh
I remember when you came
through briefly
Telling me I was born to
be on stage
I’ve never forgotten
And continue to learn
from everything you achieved
in life
Taken by Aids
But your last song saying
The words ‘ I still love you’
Well I still love you Freddie
River Phoenix
What a life
What a soul
Not sure who it was who
came through
Some kind of connection to
your spirit
Looking through my photo
albums
Teaching me how to cry
When I was at Drama
School
Telling me all your siblings’
names
So many visions
So many stories
Who knows what it was
But it felt so real
And the revelations were
incredible
David Bowie
What an artist
What a revolutionary
Your music
Your make up and costumes
‘John, I’m only dancing’
Leads me on to
John Lennon
One of my favourite lyrics you
wrote
‘Why do you think you’re
here, when you’re everywhere’
Everything you achieved with
the Beatles
and as a solo artist
I remember the time when
you came through
When your son Sean
was writing Friendly Fire
My favourite jeans
and t-shirt
I was often barefoot at
that time
Such creative times and
memories
You were shot
Taken suddenly, unfairly
But your work lives on
Imagine, that album
Along with Queen got me
into writing songs and lyrics
Prince
What an all round genius
of a musician
I am learning more about
your work, your moves
and what you did
recently
My brother was always a
big fan of yours as is Tom
Amy Winehouse
Where to begin
You achieved so much in
such a short space of time
Your soul voice
Your unique nature
Pretty sure it was your
guidance that led me
to meeting someone
that night
Always there sometimes far
Sometimes close
It was the drugs and drink
that got you in the end
part of the magic 27 club
You will always be remembered
Iris
What a friend you were to
Cami
Taken too young
So many rainbows
So much light
Such an incredible spirit
You are sorely missed
Taken by a tragic accident
Grace
The only sister to three
brothers
You died at seventeen
I’ve never cried so much
at someone’s funeral
It’s been fourteen years
Since you died
Such a beauty
An amazing swimmer
So creative
I remember that time
a bird came to my
window sill and I felt
it was you
I love your family and
your friends
Your grace lives on
There are so many others
We have lost along the
way
Everyone can relate to
grief
They are not far away
Some people we have lost
in life
People drift apart
But we carry on living
Almost in parallel lives
We are all a lot closer
than we realise
no need to ever feel
alone
We care
Any they’re just over there
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